Friday, April 20, 2012

In Home Viewings: "Young Adult"

Once upon a time, Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) had
everything. She was the most popular girl in her small-town high school, she
had she was dating school heartthrob Buddy (Patrick Wilson), and she was “going
places.” But when Young Adult picks
up, we find that Mavis’ life didn’t quite turn out the way she wanted. Having
lost Buddy sometime after high school, she is now a recent divorcee, a raging
alcoholic, and the nearly uncredited writer of a soon-to-be-finishing teen
fiction series. In short, her life is going nowhere and despite her outward
protestations to the contrary, she seems to know it. After learning that Buddy
has recently become a father, Mavis spontaneously packs her bags and heads back
home to Mercury, Minnesota with an eye on breaking up Buddy’s seemingly happy
marriage. As her plan unravels, however, she finds an unlikely friend in Matt
(Patton Oswalt) and begins to question her life choices.

Young Adult
represents the reunion of director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody,
both of whom burst onto the Hollywood scene with 2007’s Juno (a personal favorite of mine). You can see hints of Juno sprinkled through this
collaboration, though its charm is decidedly different than the pair’s previous
effort. Whereas Juno took a serious
situation and brought a light, quirky interpretation to the table, Young Adult takes a less significant
subject matter (that being everyday life) and runs it through a humorous but much
darker wash. It’s an interesting mix that doesn’t always work but also never
really flounders. In essence, Young Adult
finds a center groove and it stays there throughout the runtime, coming
together for a quality film that perhaps does not reach its potential. I could
make the case that this is the worst of Reitman’s four films but that’s really
more a testament to the strength of his other than it is a mark against this
piece. Perhaps its greatest failure is that it lacks the inspiration of Juno or Up in the Air and becomes mostly just a well-told story.

The greatest difference between Young Adult and Juno is,
of course, the protagonist. Mavis’ embittered, cold nature is the polar
opposite of Juno’s upbeat, hipster mentality and yet she is no less
likeable. (Okay, maybe a little less
likeable. I’ve got quite a soft spot for good ol’ Juno.) Theron pulls no
punches in creating an immature and somewhat dark character but she always
displays a twinge of insecurity even in her most diabolical moments. She isn’t
exactly a sympathetic figure but the lack of self-worth which shines through in
every scene makes her human and allows the audience to stick with her
throughout the film. You may not necessarily root for Mavis but you also don’t
root against her. This is what makes Young
Adult a worthwhile experience when compared to, say, Bad Teacher, another 2011 film that featured an unflinchingly
miserable leading lady. I openly rooted against Cameron Diaz’s morally reprehensible
teacher in that film while Mavis seems to have a chance at becoming a good person,
even if she never really attains redemption, which creates a bit of appeal. It’s
a great performance from Theron and it shows off the incredible range she truly
has.

I
would also be remiss if I didn’t mention how great Oswalt is in his role as a
poor unfortunate soul who’s never gotten the attention he deserves. Not only is
he hilarious but his almost poignant portrayal is what brings Mavis’ humanity
to the surface. It’s an understated but nonetheless powerful role and Oswalt
absolutely nails it while providing the perfect contrast for Theron to work off
of.

In the end, Young
Adult comes out as a good, perhaps even very good, dramedy that doesn’t
quite have the aspirations that I might have expected. It is entertaining and
well-acted but ultimately forgettable, the kind of film that you enjoy once
through but don’t seek out again in the future.